01-19438. Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Announcement of Applications From Hospitals Requesting Waivers for Organ Procurement Service Areas

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces three applications that we have received from hospitals requesting waivers from entering into agreements with their designated organ procurement organizations (OPOs), in accordance with section 1138(a)(2) of the Social Security Act. This notice requests comments from OPOs and the general public for our consideration in determining whether we should grant these waivers.

COMMENT DATE:

We will consider comments if we receive them at the appropriate address, as provided below, no later than 5 p.m. on October 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

In commenting, please refer to file code CMS-1193-NC. Because of staffing and resource limitations, we cannot accept comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission. Mail written comments (one original and three copies) to the following address only: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-1193-NC, P.O. Box 8010, Baltimore, MD 21244-8010.

To ensure that mailed comments are received in time for us to consider them, please allow for possible delays in delivering them.

If you prefer, you may deliver your written comments (one original and three copies) to one of the following addresses: Room 443-G, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201, or Room C5-09-26, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

Comments mailed to the addresses indicated as appropriate for hand or courier delivery may be delayed and could be considered late.

For information on viewing public comments, see the beginning of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark A. Horney, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Inspection of Public Comments: Comments received timely will be available for public inspection as they are received, generally beginning approximately 3 weeks after publication of a document, at the headquarters of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21244, Monday through Friday of each week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment to view public comments, phone [phone].

I. Background

Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are not-for-profit organizations that collect human organs from hospitals and distribute them to transplant centers around the country. Qualified OPOs are designated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to collect organs in CMS-defined exclusive geographic service areas, according to section 371(b)(1)(E) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 273(b)(1)(E)) and our regulations at 42 CFR 486.307. Once an OPO has been designated for an area, hospitals in that area that participate in Medicare and Medicaid are required to work with that OPO in providing organs for transplant, according to section 1138(a) of the Social Security Act (the Act), and our regulations at § 482.45.

Section 1138(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Act provides that a hospital must notify the designated OPO (for the service area in which it is located) of potential organ donors. Under section 1138(a)(1)(C) of the Act, every participating hospital must have an agreement to identify potential donors only with that particular designated OPO.

However, section 1138(a)(2) of the Act provides that a hospital may obtain a waiver of these requirements from the Secretary under certain specified conditions. A waiver allows the hospital to have an agreement with an OPO, other than the one initially designated by CMS, if the hospital meets certain conditions specified in section 1138(a)(2) of the Act. In addition, the Secretary may review additional criteria described in section 1138(a)(2)(B) of the Act to evaluate the hospital's request for a waiver.

Section 1138(a)(2)(A) of the Act states that in granting a waiver, the Secretary must determine that the waiver—(1) is expected to increase organ donations; and (2) will ensure equitable treatment of patients referred for transplants within the service area served by the designated OPO and within the service area served by the OPO with which the hospital seeks to enter into an agreement under the waiver. In making a waiver determination, section 1138(a)(2)(B) of the Act provides that the Secretary may consider, among other factors: (1) Cost-effectiveness; (2) improvements in quality; (3) whether there has been any change in a hospital's designated OPO due to the changes made in definitions for metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs); and (4) the length and continuity of a hospital's relationship with an OPO other than the hospital's designated OPO. Under section 1138(a)(2)(D) of the Act, the Secretary is required to publish a notice of any waiver application within 30 days of receiving the application and offer interested parties an opportunity to comment in writing for 60 days, beginning on the publication date in the Federal Register.

The criteria that the Secretary uses to evaluate the waiver in these cases are the same as those described above under sections 1138(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Act and have been incorporated into the regulations at § 486.316(e) and (f).

II. Waiver Request Procedures

In October 1995, we issued a Program Memorandum (Transmittal No. A-95-11) detailing the waiver process and discussing the information that hospitals must provide in requesting a waiver. We indicated that upon receipt of the waiver requests, we would publish a Federal Register notice to solicit public comments, as required by section 1138(a)(2)(D) of the Act.

According to these requirements, we will review the requests and comments received. During the review process, we may consult on an as-needed basis with the Public Health Service's Division of Transplantation, the United Network for Organ Sharing, and our regional offices. If necessary, we may request additional clarifying information from the applying hospital or others. We will then make a final determination on the waiver requests and notify the affected hospitals and OPOs.

III. Hospital Waiver Requests

As permitted by § 486.316(e), three hospitals have requested waivers in order to enter into agreements with alternative, out-of-area OPOs. The listing below indicates the name of the facility, the city and State of the facility, the requested OPO, and the currently designated area OPO. This request is not a result of a governmental change; therefore, the exception under § 486.316(g) does not apply to these three hospitals. These hospitals must continue to work with their designated OPOs until the completion of our review.

Name of facility	City	State	Requested OPO	Designated OPO
Portage Health System	Hancock	MI	MIOP	WIWU
Trace Regional Hospital	Houston	MS	MSOP	TNMS
SCCI Hospital	Lima	OH	OHLP	OHLC

IV. Keys to the OPO Codes

The keys to the acronyms used in the listings to identify OPOs and their addresses are as follows:

MIOP

ORGAN PROCUREMENT AGENCY OF MICHIGAN

2203 Platt Road

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

MSOP

MISSISSIPPI ORGAN RECOVERY AGENCY, INC.

12 River Bend Place

Suite B

Jackson, Mississippi 39208

TNMS

MID-SOUTH TRANSPLANT FOUNDATION

910 Madison Avenue

Suite 1002

Memphis, Tennessee 38103

WIWU

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OPO

University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics

600 Highland Avenue

Madison, Wisconsin 53792

OHLP

LIFELINE OF OHIO

770 Kinnear Road

Suite 200

Columbus, Ohio 43212

OHLC

LIFE CONNECTION OF OHIO

40 Wyoming Street

Dayton, Ohio 45409

V. Collection of Information Requirements

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are required to provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register and solicit public comment before a collection of information requirement is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. In order to fairly evaluate whether an information collection requirement should be approved by OMB, section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires that we solicit comment on the following issues:

• The need for the information collection and its usefulness in carrying out the proper functions of our agency.
• The accuracy of our estimate of the information collection burden.
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
• Recommendations to minimize the information collection burden on the affected public, including automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Section 486.316 sets forth the requirements for a Medicare or Medicaid participating hospital to request a waiver permitting the hospital to have an agreement with an OPO other than the OPO designated for the service area in which the hospital is located. The burden associated with these requirements is currently approved under OMB 0938-0688, HCFA-R-13, Conditions of Coverage for Organ Procurement Organizations, with an expiration date of November 30, 2001.

Authority: Section 1138 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-8).

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773, Medicare-Hospital Insurance; Program No. 93.774, Medicare-Supplementary Medical Insurance, and Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance Program)

Dated: July 20, 2001.

Thomas A. Scully,

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.